After Dark
by lAuRaa'XD
Summary: Claire gets locked out of the house in the dark, which is not a good idea when you live in Morganville, Vampire Central. What will happen, and will she survive? Rubbish summary I know, but please R&R! :D
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is my first fanfic, I hope you like it. Basically, this is what happens when Claire gets stuck in Morganville after dark. Not much happens in this chapter, but it's only the first one and I promise it will get more exciting! I apologise if there are any mistakes. Please R&R! :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Morganville Vampires or the charcaters I've used; they all belong to the wonderful Rachel Caine. **

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><p>Claire Danvers looked up at the empty Glass House, then back down at her backpack, and sighed. Why was it that the onetime all of her housemates were out of the house doing God knows what, she forgot her keys?<br>"Great. This is just great." She muttered to herself as she sat down on the porch and resigned herself to waiting for someone, anyone, to come home. It was only four in the afternoon, and it was summer, so needless to say the sun was beating down on her almost unbearably, so she thought that maybe it wasn't so bad sitting and waiting. She could definitely do with the vitamin D, Claire decided at she looked down at her pale arms, as long as she didn't burn. She had had enough sun burn to last her a life time (admittedly, that hadn't _actually _been the sun, more like a UV bomb meant for her crazy bad-ass boss, Myrnin, but the effects were pretty much the same. She had walked round for over a week with a bright red, pealing face). So Claire leant her head back against the door, closed her eyes, and waited.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there before she realized that the sun was steadily dropping from the sky. In any other town, this might have been a mere annoyance, after all, no one liked being out on their own after dark, but in Morganville, Texas, it was suicidal. Even with her special pin, that identified her as a friend of Morganville and was just about the best protection anyone could get, she wasn't completely safe. Not when you lived in a town run by vampires.  
>"Damn it!" Claire said, and reached down into her backpack looking for her phone. Eventually her hand closed around the cold metal of her Nokia, and she pulled it out. She scrolled down her contacts list until she found Eve's name, and pressed the button to call her. It rang a few times before it went to voice mail. Eve's cheery voice (which, when Claire thought about it, didn't really go with the gothic exterior of her best friend), filled the tiny speaker.<br>"Hey losers! This is Eve, but I obviously can't pick up the phone right now. I'm probably working, or maybe I've lost my phone, or maybe I just don't wanna talk to you! HA! Anyway leave a message! See ya!"  
>Claire looked down at her watch, it was seven thirty, and Claire remembered belatedly that Oliver had roped Eve into working in his coffee shop, Common Grounds, for the evening. She had no idea how he'd managed that. Oliver was one of the meanest vamps in town, and none to popular with the humans (at least the ones 'in the know' about Morganville), and Eve hated working nights. Which was understandable, given the whole vampire issue. He must've offered her at least double what he usually paid her. Claire shut the phone without leaving her a message, and rang her second housemate, Michael, instead. He picked up the phone, but wasn't much more help.<br>"Hey, Claire." He greeted her when he answered.  
>"Hi, Michael. Look, I left my keys in the house and I need a favour-"<br>"Sorry, Claire I'm kind of busy right now, Amelie needs me to do something. Have you tried Shane?"  
>"No, he's working."<br>"Phone Eve." He said, and Claire heard the cold hard voice of Amelie, Founder of Morganville, in the background, though she couldn't make out what she was saying, "Sorry Claire, I really have to go, I'll see you at home." He hung up before Claire could tell him that she had already phoned Eve, and she wasn't picking up her phone.

There was only one more person that Claire could call, and while he was the person she wanted to see the most out of all her housemates, he also had the most to lose, and would take _way _longer to get here than the others. Claire's boyfriend, Shane Collins, was a slacker, and didn't always bother to go to work, so wasn't far from losing his job cutting up barbeque meat, and he really needed the money; he wasn't exactly rolling in cash. But Claire knew without a doubt that he would come running if she needed his help; Shane was very protective of those he loved, of which Claire was most definitely one, and would do anything to keep them from harm. She didn't want to be the one responsible for making him unemployed, but she couldn't sit outside all night and wait for the vampires to come out. Not that all vampires were bad, Michael Glass, for example was one of her closest friends and housemates, he owned the Glass House and was a sweetheart, and Sam Glass, Michael's grandfather, had always stood up for the humans, at least until Bishop, the evil cold-hearted vampire, had come to town and killed him, along with many others. Of course, there was also Myrnin. He had been insane for a while, with the 'Bishop disease', but was now cured; though in his sane state he was still half crazy all of the time. He was by far the cleverest person Claire had ever met, which was logical seeing as he had been around for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, and he seemed to live in his underground lab, where Claire worked. She didn't think she could count him on her list of 'good' vampires, he could easily lose control; the fang marks on her neck were proof of that, but in a weird way she had grown to care about him, and even consider him her friend. Amelie rarely lost control, and never went around biting random people, but she could never be considered a friend; she believed that vampires were superior, and humans expendable. The majority of Morganville vampires wouldn't kill random people, but there were always some who didn't believe in Amelie's rules, and would hunt whomever they could.

After debating with herself for a while, she realised that her surviving was a lot more important than Shane's job, so she rang him on his mobile. He answered on the second ring.  
>"Hey, Jailbait." He sounded like he was in a good mood; there must have been lots of meat to chop with a very big knife at work.<br>"Hey, Shane."  
>"So, what's up? You miss the sound of my, admittedly wonderful, voice?" He teased.<br>"Ha, ha, you're so funny. Not."  
>"Ouch girl, harsh."<br>This time she really did laugh, "No, I didn't call just to hear your voice. I need your help."  
>"Help with what?"<br>"I left my keys at home, and now I'm locked out of the house."  
>He laughed; "That doesn't sound like you."<br>" Yeah, whatever. It's getting dark and I don't really want to be stood out here like free food."  
>There was a slight pause on Shane's end of the line, and Claire started to wonder if he had hung up.<br>"Shane?"  
>"I'm here. Shit, Claire. You can't be out after dark; it's not safe."<br>"I _know _that!"  
>"Right, I'm coming now."<br>Claire breathed a sigh of relief, nothing bad could happen if Shane was on his way. She knew that was stupid, and precisely the way to get herself killed, but that was just how she felt. "Thank you."  
>"Try and climb through a window, or something. Anything. Just get inside, Claire."<br>"I'll try."  
>"Damn it! I need a car!" He sounded out of breath; he must have been running to get to her, "Stay on the line until I get there, shout if there's any trouble."<br>"Okay." Claire replied, and walked around to the side of the house in search of an open window. There weren't any, of course; that would've made life way too easy, so she leant back against the wall and waited for Shane to arrive.

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><p><strong>lAuRaa'XD<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Two chapters in as many days! Wow. This won't be happening regulaly btw, I just don't have much to do this weekend (well, apart from homework but that's not important). I don't think this is as good as my last chapter, but never mind. Please R&R to let me know what you think!**

**Thankyou to Charliee and chloebabe95 for being my first reviewers! :)**

**Disclaimer - Morganville Vampires belong to Rachel Caine**

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><p>The sun was still steadily dropping from the sky, and Shane was still nowhere in sight. One by one the streetlights were flickering on, leaving small pools of light in the otherwise dark street. Instead of making Claire feel safer, they made her more anxious; in Morganville, streetlights meant vampires. She started pacing directly in the glow of one of the lights, trying not to think about what could happen if Shane didn't turn up soon. There was a burst of static from her phone, and she glanced down at it in surprise.<br>"Claire?" It, or rather Shane, said. She'd forgotten she was still on the phone with him.  
>"I'm still alive." She replied.<br>"Are you inside?" He sounded hopeful.  
>"No, all the windows were locked. Where are you?"<br>"Damn." Now he sounded worried, "I'm still at least ten minutes away. God, Claire, just... just stay in the light. Keep your guard up. I'll be there as soon as I can."  
>"What about you?" She asked.<br>"What about me?" He said, confused.  
>"You're out after dark as well as me. We're both in the same boat."<br>"I'll be fine. No vamp wants to mess with me."  
>"You're not indestructible, Shane." Claire pointed out.<br>"No, but I can look after myself. Stop worrying about me; I'm more worried about you."  
>Claire wasn't surprised, "Of course you are, aren't you always?" Neither of them spoke for a while, and Claire found the steady smack of Shane's feet hitting the pavement as he ran towards her strangely hypnotic and comforting. She found herself relaxing, despite what Shane had said. It was reassuring to know that every time his feet hit the ground it brought him one step closer to her. But one step closer was still too far away.<p>

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><p>Claire's first hint that something was wrong was when the streetlight she was standing under started flickering, and then went out. She sucked in a sharp breath and started to make her way towards the next light, only to see that, one by one, all the streetlights on Lott Street were sputtering and turning off. It was like watching a scene from a bad horror movie, except this was no movie; this was real. She fumbled for her phone, and raised it to her ear.<br>"Shane?" Her voice sounded scared and weak, even to her own ears. There was no reply on Shane's end of the phone, so she tried again, "Shane?" Still no answer. It was then she realised that she could no longer hear his shoes hitting the pavement. She strained her ears, and was horrified to hear the distinct sound of a fight; a fight in which she could hear hissing.  
>"Oh God, oh God, oh God." She mumbled. She hated the very thought of Shane being caught up in any fight, though she usually had the knowledge that Shane could handle himself. Not this time though. The hissing she could hear could only mean one thing; vampires were involved. More than one by the sound of it, and Shane, even with his strength and fighting ability, would not be able to survive against multiple vampires when he was by himself. This day was turning into a nightmare.<p>

Her second sign that all was not right was when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end. Slowly, with her heart hammering in her chest, she turned around. There was no one there. A relieved bubble of laughter escaped her lips, but soon died when she felt a touch, soft as a whisper, against her neck. She whirled around, but once again couldn't see a thing. _Vampire speed, _she realised. By now her heart was beating a mile a minute, and her breathing was becoming unsteady. She backed up against the house so nothing could grab her from behind, but belatedly realised that she now had nowhere to run if anything came at her from the front. Not that running would do any good, not when you were trying to escape a vampire. She stayed that way, pressed up against the cold, hard wall of the house for what felt like an eternity before her panic started to subside, bit by bit. When her breathing had almost returned to normal she spotted a dark, solitary figure stood on the other side of the road, staring straight at her.

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><p>Her first instinct was to run. Run as fast as could away from whomever, or whatever, was watching her. After the first few seconds of shock and fear though, she started to notice more about the figure. He, at least she thought it was a he, had longish blond hair, and was very small. On closer inspection she realised he was just a little boy; he couldn't have been more than ten years old. A surge of embarrassment ran through her; she had been terrified of a little boy. Claire couldn't work out why a young boy would be out alone in the dark anywhere, let alone in Morganville. Assuming he was lost, she crossed the road towards him. When the boy saw her approaching he shrank back in fear.<br>"Do you need any help?" She asked.  
>"N-no, I'm fine." The boy said with a British accent, "Please leave me alone."<br>Claire almost laughed out loud, she had been afraid of the boy, and now he was scared of her; his face was really pale, as though all the blood had been drained from it. "Don't be scared. What's your name? And what's wrong?"  
>"Richard. And I've lost my mum."<br>"When did you last see her?" she asked.  
>A strange look passed across his face. "A very long time ago. Please can I use your phone?" Claire glanced down at the screen of cell phone. It was still connected with Shane's cell, and she really didn't want to lose the last bit of connection she had with him. She didn't even know if he was still alive, but she knew she had to keep listening, hoping against hope she would hear her name being said through the speakers. Then she glanced down at Richard, and her resolve faltered.<br>She sighed and brought the phone to her ear. "I love you, Shane." She whispered, and cut off the call.  
>"Here." She said, handing it to him. He smiled, and Claire didn't know if she'd imagined it or not, but she could've sworn she saw a flash of fang. The boy, Richard, looked at the phone in his hand, and crushed it with the tiniest twitch of his wrist.<br>"W-w-what the..." Claire breathed, and then started backing up away from him until she was sprinting in the opposite direction. Richard dropped the phone, and caught up with her in one swift movement. He reached out and grabbed the hood of the jacket she was wearing. Claire struggled against it, and in the end slipped out of the hoody and carried on running. Again, Richard caught up with her easily, and this time wrapped one small, cold, strong hand around her upper arm, and squeezed. Claire cried out in pain as she felt the bone snap, and her head started swimming. Richard picked her up and swung her over his shoulder before taking off with her into the night. The last thing Claire remembered before passing out was Richard's voice saying "I've got her Edward. Now the fun begins." Then the world went black.

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><p><strong>lAuRaa'XD<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three folks. Enjoy! :)**

**Morganville Vampires belong to Rachel Caine, not me :(**

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><p>Claire didn't know how much time had passed. All she knew was that she was alone, cold, and in pain. When she had first woken up she had tried to escape the bindings holding her hands and feet together, but to no avail. She had thrashed and yanked and tugged at the rough, thick rope, but it was no good; it had just rubbed her skin raw. That had been ages ago. Her left arm was hanging down at an odd angle, and whenever she moved it a sharp, hot pain travelled through her whole body. Her head throbbed, and she could feel warm blood trailing down a cut on her thigh that she couldn't even remember getting. She was sat on the floor in some kind of old building; it was grimy, filthy and caked with dirt and dust. Claire could almost physically feel the grime soaking into her pores. She was so tired. So very, very tired. She felt her eyes start to drift shut, and sank gratefully into oblivion, even if it only lasted a few hours.<p>

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><p>She was woken by the sound of a slamming door a couple of hours later. She couldn't stop the hope from rising up inside her, even when she knew it was hopeless. It wouldn't be someone who'd come to help her; it would be Richard, or the person he spoke to before, Edward; she thought his name was. But even so, she hoped for Michael, or Eve. Hell, she would've settled for Oliver at this point, but most of all, she hoped for Shane. <em>Shane. <em>She had been trying not to think about him; it was too painful. She didn't know if he was alive or dead, healthy or injured, at home or at the hospital or even kidnapped like her. She was worried about him, when she knew she should be more worried about herself. But it wasn't Shane, or any of her friends. It was another young boy, this one maybe 13, who looked very similar to Richard; with the same blond hair and similar features. He moved with a grace and air she would have only expected of royalty. He was also a vampire. Brothers, Claire guessed. She had opened her eyes, but hadn't otherwise moved.  
>"Ah, the Sleeping Beauty has awakened." He said sarcastically. He, too, had a British accent. Claire blinked, but didn't say anything. "Well, girl? Don't you speak?"<br>She cleared her throat, "Yes." She said simply.  
>"That's good, I must say." He said, "I was starting to think you were a bit simple."<br>"How old are you?" She asked, not bothering acknowledge his assumption that she was stupid.  
>"That doesn't concern you, peasant."<br>She decided to ignore the peasant comment. "Who are you?"  
>"Why, I am Edward, of course."<br>"Right. Edward. Of course." _Because that really clears things up _She thought sarcastically, but didn't say it aloud because she had gotten on the wrong side of vampires too many times before, and it had never ended well.  
>"Yes, quite." He slowly and gracefully made his way towards where she lay on the floor. Claire shrank back, though she told herself not to; she had learned from Myrnin the hard way that vampires found it hard to resist signs of weakness.<br>"What do you want?" She tried to sound strong and sure of herself, but the slight tremble in her voice betrayed her.  
>"What do I want?" He mused, "What do I want? I want a lot of things, Claire. But most of all, I want... well; I don't need to tell you that, do I?" She couldn't help noticing that when he spoke to her his eyes were focused on the gash in her thigh. The gash that was still steadily dripping blood, albeit slower than before, but still enough to make her feel woozy.<br>"No, but I want to know."  
>"But you don't need to know, so I'm not going to tell you. Not yet, anyway." He seemed to be enjoying himself, much to Claire's rising annoyance.<br>"Why am I here? Why did you take me?" She demanded.  
>"Don't flatter yourself. You're not important, just a pawn. A means in which to get to the end. A way to get what I want, and be warned, I always get what I want, so you probably won't be around for long."<br>In that moment, Edward seemed to remind Claire of both Amelie _and _Monica Morrell.  
>"Good luck with that." She said, "You sound like a spoilt rich kid. Better than you have tried to kill me, and so far, I'm still here."<br>Edward was getting angry, she could tell. "Do not call me kid. I am over 500 years older than you. And there's no one better than me. No one." His eyes were slowly turning crimson, and he showed her a flash of fang.  
>"Calm down," Claire said quickly, as she wracked her mind for something to say that would distract him from wanting to kill her, "So, stuck as thirteen year old boy for eternity. That must be pretty hard." It wasn't the best distraction ever, but it was the best she could come up with under pressure. And it seemed to work, at least a bit.<br>"Do not talk to me about hard, girl." He practically spat at her, "For almost 550 years I have been like this. No one treats me as an adult, no one takes me seriously, and no one can ever fall in love with me. 550 years. My uncle ordered for me and my brother to be killed just for his own selfish gain. Do not speak to me as if you know what is _hard. _And it's all _her _fault."  
>"Her?" Claire asked, "Who's that?"<br>He glanced back at her in surprise, as if he'd forgotten about her.  
>"Stop asking questions. It's going to get you killed." He smiled slowly, and Claire watched in horror as his canines extended into fangs as sharp as knives. He shot forward so fast Claire didn't even see it, grabbed her leg and lapped up the blood that had pooled there like a dog, and snapping the bindings in the process. Claire felt sick, and tried to pull her leg away but his hands just tightened. She raised her other – now free- leg, and aimed a kick right between his legs. She didn't know if it would work on vampires as well as it did on humans, but when her foot made contact Edward howled in pain and let her go. She scrambled backwards as fast as she could, but Edward recovered from her blow faster than she thought possible; and in a matter of seconds had his hands clamped tightly around her neck. She started to desperately claw at his hands.<br>"Oh, you shouldn't have done that little girl. I was just playing, but now I'm angry." He hissed in her ear.  
>Claire could barely breathe, but managed to choke out "You won't kill me."<br>Edward laughed, "And why's that?"  
>"Because if you do, there are loads of people in this town who would be happy to return the favour."<br>"Don't you see? That's what we're counting on. You are loved in Morganville, all we have to do is threaten one hair on your pretty little head; and people will come running, and adhere to our every demand."  
>Claire was prepared to argue, but then Shane's face appeared in her mind, and she knew Edward was right, although what Shane and her friends could do for them was a mystery to her.<br>"What do you want with my friends?" She asked, or rather, tried to ask. It was hard to speak when you couldn't breathe. It came out more like "Wa dyoo won wi my frenz?"  
>"Oh, it's not your <em>friends <em>we want." Obviously Edward could understand her, "Although that suitor of yours puts up a good fight. No, we want the Founder."  
>Claire gasped as realization struck. "It was you. You were fighting Shane. What did you do to him?"<br>"He's still alive. Just." Edward said nonchalantly. Claire was suddenly filled with an uncontrollable rage; he talked about Shane as if his life meant nothing. She started to punch and kick at him with all her strength, but judging from Edward's reaction, or lack thereof, she wasn't nearly strong enough. Instead of wincing, he snarled and leaned his head down towards her neck.  
>"Sadly, the same will not be able to be said for you." He murmured against the warm skin there, and Claire gasped as she felt his fangs pierce her skin.<p>

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><p>The door opened and Richard walked in, a thick coat and hat covering his lightly smoking skin. He sighed when he saw Edward and Claire, her eyes starting to roll back into her head.<br>"Edward," He said, annoyed, "You can't kill her yet. We still need her." Edward wrenched his head away from Claire's neck, and smiled at his brother.  
>"But she tastes so good."<br>"I don't care how good she tastes. She's here for a purpose. We only kill her once we've got what we came here for."  
>"Fine. But I hate it when you're right, little brother."<br>Claire had somehow managed to stay standing, and had one hand clamped tightly over the bite. She aimed a glare at the both of them. "I told you I was hard to kill."

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><p><strong>lAuRaa'XD. Please R&amp;R! <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but it was the end of school and stuff. Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Morganville Vampires, Rachel Caine does. :)**

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><p><strong>Previously: <strong>_She aimed a glare at the both of them. "I told you I was hard to kill." _

Richard chuckled, "You're not hard to kill, peasant. In fact, your kind is extremely easy to kill. We just don't want you dead. Yet."  
>"Really?" Claire said, "Because just now I'm pretty sure your brother here was trying to murder me."<br>Richard smiled, a horrible cold smile, "Edward got carried away. It won't happen again." Claire began to feel light-headed, and as she looked down at her blood-soaked shirt she realised just how much blood she had lost. It was still steadily oozing from the punctures in her neck; she could feel it running through her fingers. She sank down to the floor, and leant her head back against the cool wall, closing her eyes as she did.  
>"You see?" Edward said, "You may not be dead, but you're not far off."<br>"Do me a favour and shut up."

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><p><strong>Shane's POV (third person)<strong>

Shane Collins opened his eyes and looked around himself. He was lying in a hospital bed, with the worried faces of two of his housemates staring down at him."Collins!" Eve cried, "You're awake!"  
>"Give the girl a prize." Shane said dryly.<br>"Well, excuse me for being concerned." She replied, annoyed.  
>"Seriously man," Michael said, "You had us all worried for a bit."<br>"Yeah, about that. I can't actually remember _why _you would be worried. The last thing I remember is going home to let Claire in. And where _is_ Claire?" Michael and Eve shared a look, which, Shane thought, was never a good sign.  
>"What? What are you guys not telling me?" He demanded, "Where's Claire?"<br>"That's just it Shane," Eve said with tears in her eyes, "We don't know."  
>Shane exploded, "<em>You don't know? What do you mean, you don't know?"<em>  
>"Well," Michael started to explain, "Claire rang me yesterday asking for help, but I was busy with Amelie so I just told her to try one of you two-"<br>"What, you just refused to help her?" Shane was angry, and worried.  
>"Please let me finish. I didn't hear anything else from her after that, so I just assumed she had gotten in okay. Then when I was on my way home a few hours later I saw you. You were unconscious, just lying on the ground covered in blood, with three vampires standing over you. I didn't recognize any of them, but they had done some serious damage. I got out of the car as fast as I could, and fought them off, but I couldn't catch them. After that I got you to the hospital as quickly as possible, and that's when I realised Claire wasn't at home. But the weird thing was, one of the vampires, I swear he was just a kid. Like, ten or something. That is just sick."<br>"I _don't fucking care _how old the vamps were! We need to go find Claire. Now!" Shane yelled.  
>"We can't. You aren't strong enough to leave the hospital, and Amelie has specifically said that we can't go looking for her." Michael said.<br>"In case you hadn't already realized Mike, I don't give a shit what Amelie says. And I'm going to find my girlfriend whether she likes it or not." Shane ripped off the tubes that were pumping god knows what into his body, stood up, and walked out of the door.

When he was sure the others could no longer see him, he stopped and gasped, clutching his side and leaning heavily against the wall. Michael was right, he could barely stand he was in so much pain, but he would _not _let that stop him. Claire needed him, so he would help her. It was as simple as that. Except it wasn't. He had already failed at protecting her; she was probably hurt, or worse, but he would not let himself think about that possibility; it was just too painful, especially as he knew it was all his fault. If he had run a bit quicker, if he hadn't let those vamps hurt him, if he had just _tried harder, _then Claire would be okay and they would all be at home watching some stupid movie that only the girls liked, but they would all be happy. He couldn't even remember what happy felt like. Gritting his teeth he pushed off the wall and limped towards the exit. He was mere metres away from the door when a nurse caught up with him.  
>"Mr Collins, I don't think it's safe for you to leave. We need to do tests and-" Shane ignored her, and pushed past her out of the door. Unsurprisingly, a few seconds later he was joined by Michael, who was covered in a long coat, hat and gloves, and then a panting Eve.<br>"Shane!" She wheezed, "You can't just walk out on us! You know we'll help you find Claire."  
>"Really? 'Cos back there your blood-sucking boyfriend seemed to want to do whatever it was the ice queen wanted."<br>"Yeah, well, he's changed his mind now. Haven't you, Michael?"  
>"I want to help Claire, god, you know that. But I'm not sure-"<br>"Oh, just shut up Michael!" Eve snapped, they seemed to have already had this conversation, "We are going to help Claire, and you are going to help us. You're sounding more and more like you're on the vamps' side everyday now."  
>"God , Eve, not this again." Michael sounded exasperated, "Why does there have to be sides? And in case you had forgotten, I am a vampire!"<br>"I know that Michael! How the hell could I forget that?"  
>Shane watched the argument with a growing sense of urgency.<br>"Guys!" He barked, "Have the domestic later. Right now we need to rescue Claire."  
>"I know," said Eve, "But Michael was right about one thing, Shane. You aren't well enough to run around playing the hero."<br>"Maybe I'm not in the best of shapes right now, but I'm a hell of a lot better than Claire might be, and a hell of a lot better than Claire will be if we don't find her and bring her home soon."  
>"Okay." Eve said, agreeing with his logic, "Let's go find us a small, but very clever, housemate."<br>"So what d'ya say Mikey? You with us?"  
>Michael sighed in defeat. "I'll get my keys."<p>

Four hours of hopeless searching later the three of them traipsed back to the Glass House, completely disheartened. As soon as Shane saw that both Michael and Eve were safely inside he took the stairs three at a time and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him. He heard Eve mumble something about 'typical Shane', but he chose to ignore her. As stupid as it was, all the while that they had been out looking for Claire around town, Shane had had a tiny ember of hope burning that when they got home he would find her sat on his bed, waiting for them. He knew it was never going to happen, yet still he hoped. And when he entered his bedroom, as messy and as empty as he had left it, he felt that last thread of hope wither and die inside his chest. He made his way towards his bed, and collapsed head first onto it, burying his face in his pillow.

A little while later Shane was blasting his headphones as loud as they would go, shutting out the world and trying to come up with a plan, but to no avail. It was always Claire who came up with the plausible plans, he was just the muscle. He didn't hear the knocking on his door, or the clomping of boots striding across his floor. The first he knew of not being alone was when his headphones were yanked out of his ears and he found himself looking at Eve's pale, gothic face.  
>"Yo, Shane! While you've been up here feeling sorry for yourself, we've actually been doing productive stuff. Hannah Moses is on her way. We told her what happened and she wants to help. Took quite a bit of persuading not to go blabbing to Amelie though. Anyway, she says she's got a few leads on where Claire might be."<br>"Let me just grab some weapons and I'll be right down." He was pleased to finally be able to do something that might help.  
>"Um, I don't think so. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You look like you've just died."<br>He didn't point out that she _tried _to look dead every single day. "I don't care Eve. If Claire's in any sort of danger then I'm coming."  
>She sighed, "I knew you'd be like this. She's probably fine."<br>"Maybe, but what if she isn't?" He choked out, "What if she's dying? What if you find her and I'm stuck here, and she's about to die and I can't even say goodbye? I love her, Eve. Please don't make me stay." He could see that she was on the verge of tears, as was he, and he could see that the exact same thoughts had been running through her head.  
>"Fine." She relented, "Let's go."<p>

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think by pressing the little review button!<strong>

**lAuRaa'XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's another update for you! Sorry it took so long (please don't hate me ;D), hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: The Morganville Vampires belong to Rachel Caine not me yada yada yada.**

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><p>Shane limped down the stairs, gripping the hand rail and clenching his teeth, trying not to let the others see his pain. He thought he was doing a pretty good job of it until he saw Hannah Moses, the chief of police in Morganville, sitting on their worn out couch and wincing at the sight of him.<br>"Wow, Shane. You don't look so good, have you been to the hospital?"  
>"Does waking up in A&amp;E count?" He asked with a smirk.<br>Hannah sighed disapprovingly, "What is it with you kids and trouble?"  
>Eve held up two crossed fingers, "We're like this."<br>"That's what I was afraid of." She shook her head, "Right, shall we get moving then?"  
>They all made their way out of the house and towards the cars parked in the driveway.<br>"We'll split up to cover more ground," Hannah said, walking towards the police cruiser, "Eve can come with me, and you boys take Michael's car. I've told Michael where to look, so he can explain to Shane on the way. Me and Eve will check the old hospital building and ring you at six to check in. If you find Claire ring me, Amelie and the paramedics if she needs them. Good luck."  
>"Yeah, will do. Good luck." Michael said, and climbed into the driver's side of his car. Shane climbed into the passenger seat, cursing himself and his injuries. He stared rigidly out of the window for the whole ride, even though he couldn't see a thing through the heavy tinting. He was trying not to think about what state Claire might be in if, <em>when, <em>he mentally corrected himself, they found her. Michael tried talking to him a couple of times, but gave up after receiving only one word answers. Shane hadn't completely forgiven him yet for not wanting to help in the first place, even though he had changed his mind. With Shane's logic, and his 'hero complex' as Eve had called it, they should do anything and everything needed to help those who needed it, sod the consequences. He thought Michael had thought that too, at least until recently.  
>Michael brought him out from his thoughts, "We're here. First we check the KVVV studio<em>, <em>then German's Tyre Plant_. _Be careful, man. I know it's still daylight, but these places are dangerous."  
>"I know."<br>"Okay, let's go."  
>They got out of the car and made their way towards the radio centre. Shane tried to suppress a shudder, that place didn't exactly have any fond memories associated with it. As they reached the door Michael's phone started ringing.<br>He glanced down at it, "It's Eve."  
>"Maybe they've found Claire." Shane said hopefully.<br>Michael nodded his head, and then picked up. "Hello?" Shane couldn't hear what Eve said on the other end of the line, but he instantly noticed the alarmed expression on Michael's face.  
>"What? What's happened?" He demanded uneasily.<br>Michael ignored him, "Eve!" He screamed into the phone.

**Claire's POV**

Claire slowly peeled open her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been out for, she couldn't even remember falling asleep, but Edward and Richard were still in the room. They were sat at a table in the corner of the room, and playing cards. _At least some people are having fun, _she thought. She brought a hand up to her neck, the bites had stopped bleeding, but were now crusty and probably infected; she hadn't exactly been lying in a clean, sterile environment. Her left arm was throbbing dully, and when she glanced down at it she saw white bone protruding from the soft, red, blood covered flesh there. Quickly, she looked up again, feeling faint. Richard turned his head toward her and smiled.  
>"So you are awake once again, little girl."<br>"I don't think you can call me _little. _Have you looked in the mirror lately?"  
>"I wouldn't talk back, if I were you," Edward said, and before Claire could blink he was up in her face, fangs extended, "You may live to regret it. That is, if you live."<br>Claire repressed a shudder, and shrank away from him. He sneered at her, and slowly walked back to the table, never once taking his eyes off the wildly beating pulse in her neck.  
>"Now, now, big brother," Richard said, "You know the plan."<br>"Yes, yes I do," Edward replied, "Let's bring it into action shall we?"  
>Claire couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her, "What do you want with me?"<br>"Oh, nothing horrendous. You will be perfectly fine, if you do exactly as we say."  
>"And if I refuse?"<br>"I don't think you will. Not when you know what's at stake."  
>"I wouldn't bet on it. What do you want me to do?"<br>Richard smiled, "Why, my dear, all we need you to do is contact the founder. We want Amelie, and believe you can get her for us."  
>"If you think I can bring you Amelie you're insane. She doesn't do what I say, and I have no way of reaching her."<br>"You're lying."  
>"No, I'm not. And even if I was, I wouldn't get her for you. What are you going to do? Kill me? You said yourself that you need me."<br>Edward sniggered, "Yes, we need you, but not your stupid little Goth friend."  
>Claire gasped, "What?"<br>"Bring her in, boys."  
>Claire watched on in horror as two massive, burly vampires dragged a kicking and screaming Eve into the room. Her white powered make up had almost completely gone, making her look younger and more vulnerable. She was covered in bloody scratches, and Claire could see a big, purple bruise starting to bloom on her right eye.<br>"What did you do to her?" Claire demanded, struggling to her feet "Let her go!"  
>"Why would we do that? We brought her here especially for you, Claire. Don't you like your present?"<br>"What is wrong with you? Let her go! Now!"  
>"Claire, Claire, Claire. We're not going to let her go." Richard signalled to the two new vampires, who shoved a crying Eve into a chair and brought a huge, silver, gleaming knife to her throat.<br>"No!" Claire yelled and stumbled across the room to Eve's side.  
>"Let me finish, please," Richard said, "We won't let her go, but we won't kill her either. Not if you do what we say."<br>"Yes, fine, I'll do it. I'll do whatever, just don't hurt her anymore. Please." Claire begged.  
>"Very good." Richard nodded to the vamps who slid the knife into a sheath and roughly pushed Eve towards Claire who then both staggered into the wall.<br>"Eve?" Claire asked, "Eve are you okay?"  
>Eve let out a huge sob, and collapsed against Claire, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Claire! Oh my God, we were so worried! I thought you were dead." Claire winced as Eve squeezed her bad arm, and Eve stepped back, eyes crinkled with concern, "Claire Bear? Oh God!" She cried as she caught sight of Claire's arm, "I c-c-can see your b-b-bone. And your neck! They bit you."<br>"It's no big deal, I'm fine. What about you? What did they do to you?"  
>"Claire! You are not fine!"<br>"I am fine," Claire insisted, "What happened to you?"  
>Eve's eyes filled with tears again, "We all went out to look for you; me, Michael, Shane and Hannah-"<br>"All of you? What happened to everyone else?"  
>"They're all okay. The boys weren't with us, and Hannah was buying coffee when they came; those two massive vamps over there. They just grabbed me and brought me here." Eve swallowed, "I tried to ring Michael but they took my phone. But that's not important. You've been gone for days, Claire. We've all been going out of our minds!"<br>"Yeah, well, you can see what happened to me. They took me here, and I've been here ever since." Claire said.  
>"God, that's terrible."<br>"It hasn't been so bad, Eve."  
>"Yes it has!" Eve was incredulous, "You need to stop down playing things, CB. Do you at least know <em>why <em>they took you?"  
>"Sort of. They want me to get Amelie for them, but I have no idea why."<br>"Amelie? Are you going to do it?"  
>"I wasn't going to, but then they brought you in, so I guess so."<br>"I don't think you should." Eve said, "Not if you don't know what they're going to do. If they have Amelie, they have the whole town."  
>"I know that, but Amelie can handle herself. I have to do it Eve." Claire said, "If I don't, they'll kill you."<p>

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><p><strong>So there you have it folks, chapter 5. Please review, they all make my day and I love them :)<strong>

**lAuRaa'XD**


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